RACHEL WEISZ

by Nate Lee 
 

BEST FILM:

The Constant Gardener...

The film that won her every acting award possible and got her out of doing Mummy type movies her whole life. Though you certainly can’t be blamed for liking “About A Boy” or “Enemy at the Gates” or even “Runaway Jury” more, there is no doubt that Weisz is more responsible for the success of “Gardener” than her other films. 

BLOCKBUSTERS:

The Mummy

The Mummy Returns 

GREAT PERFORMANCES YOU MAY NOT HAVE SEEN:

The Constant Gardener (Oscar, Golden Globe, SAG winning performance)

Runaway Jury (opposite John Cusack)

About A Boy (opposite Hugh Grant)

Enemy at the Gates (opposite Jude Law and Joseph Fiennes)

Chain Reaction (a scientist, opposite Keanu Reeves)

Sunshine (opposite Ralph Fiennes)

Definitely Maybe (a journalist, opposite Ryan Reynolds)

My Blueberry Nights (the unhappy wife of an alcoholic police officer)

Confidence

The Brothers Bloom (an eccentric heiress and target of con men)

Agora (Hypatia, a philosopher in ancient Egypt)

The Lovely Bones (with Mark Wahlberg, the parent of a murdered girl watching from heaven)

THE REAL RACHEL:

The Mummy...

Are we joking? No. An intellectual woman plucked by fate for adventure, romance and even comedy; beloved by mysterious ancient forces; still independent, second banana to no man or beast.  

ACTING STYLE:

Smart, outspoken and self-reliant. Highly educated and classically trained, yet long attached to high and low comedy, Rachel Weisz plays what she is usually, but does it so perfectly, one can’t help but want to watch. 

BITS AND QUIRKS:

Works off of more negative angles and images than just about any other actress. Pursed lips. Tightening up of the whole body. Very proper stances, often with forehead forward, as if ready to physically butt heads.  

IF YOU LIKE HER, YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T LIKE:

The Fountain

Fred Claus 

GREAT SCENES:

THE CONSTANT GARDENER - Various fights with different diplomats and officials > Singlehandedly dressing down Ralph Fiennes in a college discussion

ABOUT A BOY - Various arguments with Hugh Grant

ENEMY AT THE GATES - Revealing the death of her parents to Joseph Fiennes > The “secret rendezvous” with Jude Law in the midst of a crowded fallout shelter > Dressed as a soldier, meeting Fiennes and Law

THE MUMMY - Meeting Brendan Fraser in the library > The seductress scenes with the Mummy in the temple

MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS - Screaming at David Strathairn in the bar > Drunken confession to Norah Jones

GO TO THE... RACHEL WEISZ BIO